Mike Rowe Smacks Down An Arrogant Bernie Sanders (And Defends My Dad)

In less than 140 characters, he’s managed to imply that a path to prison is the most likely alternative to a path to college. Pardon my acronym, but…WTF!?— The beginning of Mike Rowe’s response to Bernie Sanders

Mike Rowe has a wonderfully entertaining self-deprecating humor as displayed on shows such as “Dirty Jobs,” or the newer version “Somebody’s Gotta Do It.” Even more appealing than his humor is Rowe’s honest appreciation of the people who labor at the invaluable but under appreciated vocations just to ensure that their kids have a roof over their heads, food on their table, and a life that is easier than theirs.

Those people are the soul of this great country. They are people like my Dad who never went to college but is the smartest man I ever met. When my dad got home from the all-expenses paid trip to the Philippines Uncle Sam sent him on, he wanted to get married to this pretty lady he met at Coney Island. So instead of college he married my mom and started working with his dad as a house painter. Though he never went to college I defy anyone to try and prove they are smarter, worked harder, or did a better job of caring for his family than my dad.

Earlier this week, Democratic Party presidential candidate Bernie Sanders turned his nose up at the kind of people like my dad, and Mike Rowe gave him a smack-down so severe, the blow was felt in Communist China where ironically many of Sanders’ proposed programs originated.

It started with a Sanders tweet which indicated that people who don’t go to college end up going to jail

Rowe’s response was a Facebook post illustrated by the picture below. It depicts Rowe sitting in a wheelbarrow being pushed by one of those possible criminals Sanders was describing. The TV host is wearing a cap and gown, with a diploma covering his private parts. A perfect way to show the arrogant Sanders what honest work is really about.

Bernie Sanders tweets, “At the end of the day, providing a path to go to college is a helluva lot cheaper than putting people on a path to jail.”

I wonder sometimes, if the best way to question the increasingly dangerous idea that a college education is the best path for the most people, is to stop fighting the sentiment directly, and simply shine a light on the knuckleheads who continue to perpetuate this nonsense. This latest tweet from Bernie Sanders is a prime example. In less than 140 characters, he’s managed to imply that a path to prison is the most likely alternative to a path to college. Pardon my acronym, but…WTF!?

Historically, universities have promoted themselves at the expense of many other forms of “alternative education.” The implicit suggestion, reinforced daily by a generation of well-intended guidance counselors and misguided parents, is always the same – get yourself a four-year degree, or accept one of the many “vocational consolation prizes” that result from all other forms of “lesser knowledge.”

It’s a cautionary tale as predictable as it is false. But now, as people are slowly starting to understand the obscenity of 1.3 trillion dollars in student loans, along with the abundance of opportunity for those with the proper training, it seems the proponents of “college for all” need something even more frightening than the prospect of a career in the trades to frighten the next class into signing on the dotted line. According to Senator Sanders, that “something,” is a path to jail.

I try not to be political on this page, because the truth is, arrogance and elitism are alive and well in every corner of every party – especially with respect to this topic. But I have to admit, this is the first time I’ve seen an elected official support the hyper-inflated cost of a diploma by juxtaposing it with the hyper-inflated cost of incarceration. Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of it.

Is it possible that Senator Sanders doesn’t realize the number of college graduates with criminal records? Is he unaware of the millions of successful tradespeople and entrepreneurs who didn’t pay for a sheepskin, but somehow managed to stay of the clink? Does he not recognize that comments like his will encourage more kids who are better suited for an alternative path to borrow vast sums of money they’ll never be able to pay back in order to pay for a degree that won’t get them a job?

Maybe not. Maybe the 140 character limit has doomed him to be misunderstood or taken out of context. Certainly, it’s happened to me. But regardless, the damage is in the headline, and Twitter is nothing but headlines. The truth, in my opinion, is this: There is no alternative for an education, and no hope for a person who doesn’t want to learn something useful and apply it. But there are many, many alternatives to college. And none of them come with a prison sentence.

Anyway, I’m in no position to judge. After all, I’m going LIVE on Facebook at 5pm PT to raise money for Work Ethic Scholarships by singing The Grinch and selling a collectible Bobblehead. http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll…

So really, what do I know?

Mike

Mike you know plenty (not as much as my dad but it’s still pretty good).

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